1910 - Legendary actor David Niven is born James David Graham Niven in London, England. His Disney credits include the 1977 Candleshoe in which he played multiple roles, and the 1976 No Deposit, No Return. (Film fans will know Niven from Around the World in Eighty Days, The Guns Of Navarone, The Pink Panther and as Sir James Bond in the unofficial spoof Casino Royale.)

1924 - Disney's Alice Comedies debut with the short Alice's Day at Sea in a handful of east coast theaters. The combination live-action and animated film features young Virginia Davis as Alice.

1930 - Disney animator & techincal genius Ub Iwerks, the first animator of Mickey Mouse, officially leaves Disney to set up his own animation studio. (His character Flip the Frog will eventually fail and he will later return to Disney.)

1940 - A rare instance of Walt Disney's praise occurs at a "Bambi" screening of two minutes of test animation by Frank Thomas and Milt Kahl. After seeing the footage, Disney turns to the two animators with tears in his eyes and says "Thanks, fellows. That's great stuff, no kidding. Those personalities are pure gold." Walt seldom gives a direct compliment. (When "Bambi" is completed it will have the fewest lines of dialogue of any Disney animated feature.)

1941 - Walt Disney's speech "Our American Culture," is broadcast during an intermission of the Metropolitan Opera. Walt's words include:
"Once a man has tasted freedom he will never be content to be a slave. That is why I believe that this frightfulness we see everywhere today is only temporary. Tomorrow will be better for as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life. All men will want to be free and share our way of life. There must be so much that I should have said, but haven't. What I will say now is just what most of us are probably thinking every day. I thank God and America for the right to live and raise my family under the flag of tolerance, democracy and freedom." (These words will be echoed some 60 years later by Disney President Michael Eisner after the terrorist attacks of September 2001.)

1963 - Actor Bryan Batt - who in 2001 played the role of Lumiere in Disney's Broadway hit Beauty and the Beast - is born in in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Fans of TV's Mad Men know Batt for his role of Salvatore.)

1971 - Actor Jack Davenport - known for his role of Norrington in both Disney features Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - is born in Suffolk, England.

1994 - At the 36th Annual Grammy Awards the song "A Whole New World," from Disney's Aladdin, wins 3 times! Song of the Year goes to the song's writers Alan Menken and Tim Rice. Singers Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle win for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Menken and Rice also win for Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television goes to Alan Menken for Aladdin.

1995 - The Lion roars at the 37th Grammy Awards, held at the Shrine Auditorium. Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male is awarded to Elton John for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." Best Instrumental Arrangement With Accompanying Vocal goes to "Circle of Life," arranged by Lebo Morake and Hans Zimmer. The Lion King—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack wins Best Musical Album for Children. Best Spoken Word Album for Children is awarded to The Lion King Read-Along.

1996 - The Hilton Head Resort in South Carolina, a Disney Vacation Club resort property, opens. A 5-hour drive from Disney World, the resort is fashioned after a 1940s hunting and fishing lodge.

1998 - Bug Juice, a documentary series about a group of kids that attend summer camp, officially premieres on The Disney Channel.

1999 - At Disney-MGM, a third drop is added to the drop sequence for the Tower of Terror attraction. Also, Doug Live (a stage show) opens replacing Superstar TV.

1999 - Kali River Rapids (a whitewater rafting adventure) and Maharajah Jungle Trek both open in the Asia section of Animal Kingdom.

2002 - The Atlanta Braves take on the Florida Marlins in their first big-league preseason game of the year at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Florida.

2003 - Epcot features the final performances of Tapestry of Dreams, coinciding with the end of the 100 Years of Magic celebration.

2005 - Disney releases its 1942 classic Bambi for the first time on a special 2-disc DVD. The original soundtrack is also released on CD.

2005 - The premiere of Disney's live-action film The Pacifier takes place at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, California.

2006 - The soundtrack to Disney's High School Musical reaches the number one spot on the Billboard 200 for the first time.

2007 - Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World announces that two large tracts of land on different areas of its 43-square mile property are being developed. The first, a 900-acre golf community, will replace the existing Eagle Pines golf course at the Bonnet Creek Golf Club with a Four Seasons hotel. The second project, also unnamed, is located on 450 acres near the new Western Beltway that Disney plans to sell to an as-yet-unnamed developer or group of developers.

2007 - The Atlanta Braves play their first home spring training game against a Major League team at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida. The Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-2.

2009 - New York Yankees pitchers C.C. Sabathia and Joba Chamberlain take a spin on the Toy Story Mania! 3-D attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The two hurlers are at Walt Disney World Resort for ESPN The Weekend.

__________________